Phonograph record file and cabinet



July 25, 1950 J. HAMMOND 2,516,116

I PHONOGRAPH RECORD FILE AND CABINET Filed April 26, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet l daseph 11a mmoncl S 5 J. HAMMOND 2,516,116 3 PHONOGRAPH RECORD FILE AND CABINET Filed April 26, 1946 2 Sheets-Shet 2 LWWZE V Jose /e )filmmorral Patented July 25, 1950 UNITEDSTATES PATENT oFFIC 2,516,116 PHONOGRAPHRECORD FILE AND CABINET 7 Joseph Hammond, Rockford, Ill. "Application April 26, 1946, Serial No. 665,255

9 Claims. (01. 312-12) are adapted toswing outwardly away from one another like the covers of a book or loose-leaf binder when the file is tilted rearwardly, thus making the envelopes which contain the phonograph records fan out like the leaves of a book so that the titles onthe records may be easily read and one may quickly and easily select or find any record or records out of a-large group.

Another important object is to provide a record file of the kind mentioned in which the bottom piece is tiltably. mounted on a base in such a way that the weight of the records is near enough to the point of balance in relation to the fulcrum axis so that it requires very little efiort to tilt the file to the reclining position for easy access to the records. In amodified form a bottom piece has arcuate members thereon that are rotatable in arcuaterunways in a support so that the weight of the records does not have to be lifted much if at all in tilting the record file to the reclining position.

Still another object is to .providea tiltable record file of the kind described in which the base carries suitable pneumatic checking devices connected to the bottom'piece of the file to eliminate shock and jar in the tilting of the file and reduce likelihood of a person pinching his fingers between the bottom piece of the file and reduce likelihood of a person pinching his fingers between the bottom piece ,of'the file and the base.

Still another object 'is to provide a cabinet for a record file ofthe kind described in which the door is hinged to swing downwardly to form a support for the file inits extended position and has downwardly swingable legs to assume the load when the record file is pulled out of the cabinet onto the top of the extended door, tracks being suitably provided on the floor of the cabinet compartment and on the inside of the door on which rollers'provided on the base of the file are adapted to run for easy movement of the file to and from its retracted position.

Still another object is to provide .a record file of the kind described in which novel'hold-backs are-provided for holding a specified number .of

2 empty spare envelopes out of the way so as not to interfere with the easy handling of the other envelopes that contain records in the selection of records.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a record file cabinet made in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the cabinet showing the door SWlll'lg open and supported by its two legs and supporting the record file in its extended operative position;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the cabinet showing the door swung down and showing the recor file in its retracted position; i

Fig. 4 is a top view of the front portion of Fig. 2 showing how the record file opens like a book and illustrating the hold-backs;

Fig. 5 is a side view of the record file on a larger scale;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the cabinet showing the record file opened for use, and

Fig. '7 is a side view of another record file showing a modified or alternative construction.

Similar reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views.

The cabinet t has a door I hinged, as indicated at 8, to swing downwardly to the substantially horizontal open position shown in Fig. 2, a knob 9 being suitably provided near the top to open the door, and a suitable catch or detent (not shown) being provided to hold the door closed. In some cases a lock may also be provided for the door to prevent unauthorized access to the records. A

pair of legs H] fit in slots H in the door and are pivoted on pins E2 to swing downwardly in the opening of the door, to support the door from the fioor l3 and assume the load of the record file, indicated generally by the reference numeral M, whenthe file is pulled out for use, as illus-- trated in Fig. 2. Two tracks [5 provided on the inner side of the door are aligned with two tracks EB provided on the floor of the cabinet compartment H, and rollers l 8 provided on the carriage or base I9 of the record file 14 run on these tracks tofacilitate the movement of the record file M into and out of the cabinet. A stop or stops may be provided to limit outward movement of the file I4 on the tracks. A chain or other flexible connection 20 is shown between the back wall of the cabinet compartment and. the base It to limit the movement of the record file so that there will be no danger of its being pulled out too far. Any suitable means may be provided for locking the file 14 by means of its base 19 releasably in its 3 extended position. The record file l4 comprises a bottom-piece 2|, a back-piece 22 rigidly secured to the rear end of the bottom-piece in substantially right angle relationship and side-pieces 23 hinged at their rear ends, as indicated at 24, to the back-piece 22 to swing outwardl away from one another like the covers of a book. The upper rear corner of the side-pieces 23 are cut away as shown ,at 25-.to permit opening wider without interference with the sides of the cabinet. The file in a full-size cabinet contains usually about a hundred envelopes 2B which are open on the top and at least part way up the front to permit placing the disc phonograph'records 27 in the envelopes easily or removing the same. Circular holes 28 are provided in both sides of the envelopes through which the titles on i'thGilECOIfdS can be read. This type of envelope is well known in this art, and is usually made of manila or other tough paper. In the present case each of the envelopeslhas a cardboard strip '29glued cetween the siiies thereof at the back so that-when'one or more rods-"fiil are-passed through registering holes in the envelopes near the back thereof, lni'rout of-the stripsid to fasten the group of envelopes together, as in a loose-leaf binder, there is no d'anger-of' the paper-tearing at the holes. The

rod 30 is supported-at opposite ends on sheet .m'etalbrackets 3| that project forwardly from the ends'o'f the back-piece '22, and nuts 32' are preferably threaded on the projectingends of the rod 30 to lock the rod in place. With this construction; it should be clear-that the individual envelopes zii are free-to swing from side to side like the leaves of a book-that is standing on .tilted back and opened. The bottom-piece 2| is hinged-"transversely intermediate its front and rear edges, as indicated at 33, onthe base iB-so as 'to-be tiltable rearwardly to the extent permitted by the beveled rear end portions'Sdof'tho base. The device is shown in this osition in Figs; 2 and 4. The hingingor'fulcruming axis 323 is located near enough tothe vertical plane through the center of the records 2'! in'the envelopesiZG so'that the operator'taking holdof the handle 35-that is provided on the front portion of thebottom piece 2| onthe underside will not find it'difiicult to tilt the fileof records. The first movement through a small angle-bringsthe 'file to a'dead-center position, indicated b 'the center-line bb and the file thereafter moves through a further small angularity, aided :by gravity, and finally comes to rest on the inclined surface '36. It is because the file moves pastthe dead-center position that there is no need for I anymeansior locking the file in the'tilted position, andthe same is, of course, true in regard to the normal upright position shown in Fig. 5. The center lines cb and ab indicatethe opposite extremes. of movement of the file relative to the base ill}, the included angle between these'two lines being equal to the included anglebetween the bottom 2| and the incline 3 in Fig.6. To avoid any sudden shock or jar and danger of pinching fingers in the rocking movement of the file, I may provide suitable checking devices, as, for example, the pneumatic dashpots 35 and'fil, 'which are'shown as provided in the base I 9 and have pistons 33 working therein connected by links 39 to thebottom piecezl of the file, suitable 1" .metering valves (not shown) being provided on these dashpots to regulate the checking action consistent with the weight of the records stored Linithe' file. :I also prefer to provide slotted links zasishown at :.41 in.liig. 6 to limit theopening movement of the side pieces 23 relative to the bottom piece 2|, these links being preferably pivoted on the bottom of the side pieces and being slidable relative to studs on the bottom piece to the extent permitted by the slots in the links. While I have shown the record file I4 as provided on a base |9 movable into and out of a cabinet compartment, it should be understood that I do not limit my.inventionto that specific application, inasmuchzas such afile may be provided independently of any cabinet. Also, while I have shown a file tiltable from a vertical position, it should be understood that my invention is not limited to thatrtype, because many of the advantages may be gained by having a file fixed in the reclining position.

Where thezpurchaser of this type of record file has only a few records to store in it, the reserve supply of empty envelopes 26 is preferably held back out of the way by flags or hold-backs 40, preferably made of-spring steel,- which'c'an" be inserted intoselecte'd holes-4| providedinthebottom piece 2| in laterally spaced relation -near the front thereof, asshown in Fig. =4; If -theenvelopes containing thereco-rds are placed in themvelopes in themiddle portion'of-the-file between the empt ones that-are=heldbackpn both sides of the file, it isobvious that the=envelopes-containing-the records-will leaf out when the-file is tilted back, making the-recordsthereinthemore readily identifiable, as clearly shown-in Fig.4. When the-record file is in respose; as" when moved to the retracted position in the cabinet, the

hinged side pieces 23 will ordinarily not require r any means 'for'holding them in, but,if-desired,

I mayprovid-e pull buttons lz"pivotally connected to detents *4-3 that are 4 pivotally *mounted in' the bottom piece 2| under the sidepieces 23 -and-arranged to projectintogrooves 44 I provided-therefor in the bottom edges =of the side pieces-,as

illustrated inFig. 5. In that -way,the recordfile may be kept locked until the buttons-42am pulled out as illustrated in Fig. 2.

Indicated in dotted lines at 45, i in Fig. 1 is a 'lower shelf in 'the cabinet'-- 6- for-a lower open -frontcompartment in which-record albums-may be kept, like those indicated' in dotted lines at.

In this waythe'one cabinet'takes care of the storage of individual records and also albums containing groups ofrecords. This-arrangement further permits the storage of T 10 records in: the upperfile, foi example, and 12" records-inthe albums below, and thus takes'care'otm'ost phonograph purchasers requirements.

The fileM shown in 'Figj 'listhesame as the .file l-4, but has arcuate runners48 onthe bottom piece 2| working in arcuate=tracks -or :recesses 49 in thebase 4 9 'for vtiltably orrotatably mounting thefi-le on the base. .IiT the arcsofIthe runners 48 have their center coincident with-the centerssof the recordsxZ 1 in. the. envelopes :26 it is clear thatthe weight of the records is not lifted in moving the file It to reclinin :position, thus Clips 5| fastened to the base relation tothe base I P9 with therrollers fifl there- :between. A stopfiA on'theiback-sof the filevengages the; backxofz the' basegbut; may be. arranged to strike :thevdoor :1, to.limit:therrecliningtmove ment of the file. The front end 55 of the bottom piece comes into abutment on top of the base H9 at 58 to limit return movement. Any suitable means may be provided for releasably locking file M in both extremes.

In conclusion, although I have shown legs ii! designed to swing downwardly from the door I for its support, it should be clear that I may provide other supporting means, as, for example, I may provide two vertically hinged doors for the lower compartment 45 swingable outwardly into parallelism to one another, having their bottom edges in close proximity to the floor and their upper edges in close proximity to the bottom of the door 1 in its opened position, whereby the lower doors may themselves form supports for the door 1. However, in order to allow for the difference in clearances beneath the lower doors, required for different floor coverings, I may provide vertical slidable legs on the outer ends of these doors spring pressed upwardly to a limited extent, but arranged to be depressed by the door I to rest on the floor covering, so as to support the door 1 on these slidable legs, using the lower doors only as guides for these slidable legs.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, a cabinet open on one side and having a closure hinged to swing outwardly and downwardly to a substantially horizontal position, a record file carriage movable out of said cabinet on top of said closure in its horizontal position, means for supporting the closure in its horizontal position, and a record file comprising a rigid bottom tiltably mounted on said carriage, an upwardly projecting rigid back carried on said bottom, and envelopes to contain disc records swingably sup ported by their substantially vertical rear edge portions on said back.

2. In a device of the character described, a cabinet open on one side and having a closure hinged to swing outwardly and downwardly to a substantially horizontal position, a record file carriage movable out of said cabinet on top of said closure in its horizontal position, means for supporting the closure in its horizontal position, and a record file comprising a rigid bottom tiltably mounted on said carriage, an upwardly projecting rigid back carried on said bottom, envelopes to contain disc records swingably supported by their substantially vertical rear edge portions on said back, and sides of relatively nonflexible material hinged at their rear edge portions to said back on the opposite sides thereof.

3. A record storage file comprising a rigid bot tom tiltably supported on a base, an upwardly projecting rigid back carried on said bottom, and envelopes to contain disc records swingably supported by their substantially vertical rear edge portions on said back.

4. A record storage file comprising a rigid bottom tiltably supported on a base,'an upwardly projecting rigid back carried on said bottom,

envelopes to contain disc records swingably supported by their substantially vertical rear edge portions on said back, and sides of relatively nonfiexible material hinged at their rear edge portions to said back on the opposite sides thereof.

5. A record storage file comprising a rigid bottom tiltably supported on a base, an upwardly projecting rigid back carried on said bottom, envelopes to contain disc records swingably supported by their substantially vertical rear edge portions on said back, sides of relatively nonfiexible material hinged at their rear edge portions to said back on the opposite sides thereof, and means for releasably locking said sides in rigid relation to said bottom and substantially parallel relation to one another.

6. A record storage file comprising a rigid bottom tiltably supported on a base, an upwardly projecting rigid back carried on said bottom, and envelopes to contain disc records swingably supported by their substantially vertical rear edge portions on said back, the fulcrum point for tilting movement of said bottom being behind the vertical plane through the centers of the records but in a vertical plane that projects upwardly within the radius of the records.

' 7. A record storage file comprising a rigid bottom tiltably supported on a base, an upwardly projecting rigid back carried on said bottom, and envelopes to contain disc records swingably supported by their substantially vertical rear edge portions on said back, the bottom having arcuate runners the center of which is substantially coincident with the center of disc records disposed in said envelopes, and said carriage having arcuate tracks thereon on which said runners operate for rotary tilting support of said file.

8. A record storage file comprising a rigid bottom tiltably supported on a base, an upwardly projecting rigid back carried on said bottom, envelopes to contain disc records swingably supported by their substantially vertical rear edge portions on said back, and shock absorbing means yieldably resisting tilting movement of said file.

9. A record storage file comprising a rigid bottom tiltably supported on a base, an upwardly projecting rigid back carried on said bottom, envelopes to contain disc records swingabl supported by their substantially vertical rear edge portions on said back, sides of relatively nonflexible material hinged at their rear edge portions to said back on the opposite sides thereof, and means for positively limiting opening movement of said sides.

JOSEPH HAMMOND.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,778,877 Williams Oct. 21, 1930 1,933,144 Karp Oct. 31, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 546,692 Germany Sept. 7, 1930 754,125 France Aug. 21, 1933 

